Gone Fishin'

Last weekend my dad went on an ice fishing trip with a bunch of his buddies. A few of them came to our house the day before they left and helped my dad build an ice hut and get everything ready for the trip. The whole thing was a little nostalgic for me because it made me remember all the stuff my dad did with me as a kid.

My parents separated when I was just a baby so I don’t remember what it was like when they were together, but from the time I could comprehend what was going on I knew that my dad would always be there for me. My dad was the kind of guy who didn’t want to be like all the other “weekend dads” who just saw their kids on the weekends and that was it. Every time it was “dad’s weekend” I knew I would be doing fun, constructive things with him. Whether it was building a go-kart, going fishing, swimming, hiking, camping, tobogganing or simply letting me eat ice cream for breakfast, my dad always made the effort to make sure our time together was well spent.

I have a lot of friends who have separated parents. As a kid, when I would talk to them about what they did when they went to visit with their dads most of them would say they just went there and hung around and watched TV. When I went to my dad’s for the weekend, it was an event. My whole family would come over for dinner and we would always do something with my little cousins.

I feel like my dad’s involvement in my life as a kid really made a difference in how I am as a person today. Even though I didn’t grow up living in the same house as both parents, I still feel like I had more of both parents than many people I know whose parents were together.